Visiting Hours, 1: Susan Lewis
by tpel
Summary: Susan visits Romano in the hospital. Not romance. Spoilers thru season 9. First in a series of stories about the visitors Robert receives.


"Visiting Hours, #1: Susan Lewis"  
  
Author's note: Kerry was the only person to visit Dr. Romano in the hospital after the original "Romano Chop", but I'm hoping he gets a little more support the second time around. Of course Elizabeth Corday will come to see him (Yay Cordano!!! (), but who else might drop in? How about a series of short vignettes on this topic to get us through the long weeks before the Fall season kicks in? I'll get the ball rolling with the first three stories, featuring Susan, Gallant, Pratt, and Chen. If other authors want to write about other visits, that would be great!!!  
  
Susan Lewis stood outside the door of the hospital room, coffee cup in one hand and paper sack in the other, preparing herself for what was on the other side. "Oh, let's just get on with it!" she admonished herself. She knocked, and upon hearing a gruff, "Yes?" she opened the door.  
  
Robert Romano, former Chief of Staff and more recently Susan's immediate supervisor in the ER, was sitting with the bed propped mostly upright. He was wearing a robe over a T-shirt, and had a blanket pulled up to his chest. The left sleeve of his robe disappeared under the blanket. Romano seemed surprised to see her, momentarily caught without a snarky comment. All he said was, "Hello, Dr. Lewis."  
  
Susan grinned nervously. "I feel like I should have a whip and chair with me," she blurted. Then, when Romano stared at her blankly she added, "You know, entering the lion's den? Oh, never mind, it's lame. I brought you a donut."  
  
"Here I was hoping the coffee was for me," Robert replied mildly.  
  
Susan snorted, "Yeah, right. Dr. Weaver saw me bringing the donut up here, and let's just say she did not approve. I think she'd revoke my medical license if I tried to sneak you anything with serious caffeine content."  
  
"She does take that nutrition business a bit too seriously. Doesn't seem to understand the healing power of chocolate." Robert grinned a little, as he reached into the bag and broke off a small piece of chocolate glazed donut and ate it. "Thanks," he said very softly, then, after a beat he asked, "So, how did you find out?"  
  
"Well," she began, sipping her coffee, "Carter said that you were on medical leave, then he split for Africa before we could pump him for more information. Malik remembered that you came in unexpectedly after your last shift and asked Gallant to help you with something. Gallant paged me, but I was busy, and later he wouldn't tell me what the page was for, just that Kerry had taken care of it. So, we knew that Gallant knew something, but unfortunately his military training makes him resistant to torture . . ."  
  
Romano's expression was unreadable. But he didn't seem angry, so Susan continued. "So then us doctors gave up and had Abby send out an inquiry on the nurses-gossip-network. She had details within the hour."  
  
Romano was still unresponsive. Susan broke the silence by adding, "Hey, on the positive side, between your situation and Carter's last-minute Congo excursion, my quickie Vegas wedding has almost completely dropped off the gossip charts."  
  
That got Robert's attention. "You got married?"  
  
"Uh huh," Susan nodded.  
  
"When did that happen?"  
  
"Couple of months ago," she explained sheepishly.  
  
"Not to one of those freaks downstairs, I hope."  
  
"No, to a flight nurse named Chuck. Our first date and nuptials occurred within the space of a weekend in Vegas. Along with much drinking." Normally Susan would be embarrassed by her uncharacteristically rash behavior, but Romano actually seemed kind of impressed. "We got hitched, got annulled, and now we're dating. I know. It's insane."  
  
"Nah. Sounds kind of fun." Romano almost chuckled. He liked the idea of Susan being happy. She was about the only ER staffer who he could stand. She was competent and hard working, and unlike the other stiffs down there, she could recognize good sarcasm without having it bite her on the ass.  
  
Talking about her ill-fated attempt at matrimony had relaxed Susan a bit. When she first entered the room, she was expecting hostility from Romano. When that didn't come, and he didn't seem up to his normal speed for sarcastic banter, she wasn't quite sure how to proceed. But their conversation was going OK. No awkward silences or threats of dismissal yet, anyway.  
  
Susan studied Romano for a moment. He really didn't look well. He was pale with dark circles under his eyes. His cheekbones stood out, giving him a gaunt appearance. Although he continued to pick at the donut, his breakfast tray seemed untouched. Of course, Susan had seen him looking much worse. In a flash, she remembered that horrible night on the roof. Romano had been drifting in and out of consciousness, shaking uncontrollably from shock. 'God, I hope he doesn't remember that as clearly as I do.'  
  
"So, any idea when you're getting out of here?" she asked.  
  
"Did they send you up to find out how long they're rid of me for?" he spat back.  
  
'Ah, there's that hostility I was looking for,' thought Susan. Normally, when acknowledging how much others hated him, Romano looked perversely proud. Right now, he just seemed resigned. Susan bit back the retort, 'paranoid much?' and instead replied gently but evenly, "That isn't exactly what I asked, but sure, people are curious about when you'll be back."  
  
Romano looked away from Susan's steady gaze. She wasn't taking the bait, deflating his attempt to pick a fight. "Uh, OK. I'll probably be released some time next week. You know doctors - can't get a straight answer about anything."  
  
Susan smirked and waited for him to continue.  
  
"As for coming back to work, I really don't know. I mean, I don't even know if I'll be coming back to the ER. It's not like my reign so far has been a smashing success. They can't fire me on account of this," he nodded vaguely toward his left shoulder, "but Weaver may try to put me someplace where I can cause less trouble."  
  
Susan asked quietly, "Do you want to come back?"  
  
"I dunno" he shrugged, then winced. Shrugging was probably not a good idea.  
  
"Well, I hope you come back to us," Susan said brightly. 'What the hell am I saying?' she mused. After all, this was the man whose toxic management style made her miss the none-too-charming Dr. Weaver. Nevertheless, she meant what she'd said. The thought of Romano not being in the thick of things - treating patients and pissing people off - seemed like a loss. Before the moment could become awkward, Susan added, "Of course, we're so short staffed now that I'd welcome Dr. Hannibal Lecter as long as he showed up for his damn shifts on time."  
  
Romano gave a trace of an evil grin. "Yeah, I can think of some patients - and doctors - that I'd like to refer to him."  
  
Just then there was a brisk knock on the door, and a nurse entered. "Good morning Dr. Romano," she chirped with obviously fake enthusiasm. 'Wonder what bet she lost to pull this assignment?' thought Susan.  
  
". . . and nurses . . ." Romano muttered under his breath. Susan grinned.  
  
The nurse seemed to be waiting for Susan to leave, so Susan said, "I guess that's my cue to exit. Besides, I'm on in five, and my boss gets cranky when people clock in late."  
  
Romano smirked, "Give my regards to the leper colony. On second thought, don't bother." Susan flashed him a smile, shaking her head slightly, as she left him to the nurse's ministrations. 


End file.
